If the DVD of this ride is half as interesting as the book and DVD of the 2009 ride, it will be fantastic.

I am reading it now as the economic world finally got off my back and I felt like I could splurge and get it. Now if I can only get a bit more of the world off my ass maybe I can get back on the trail as well.

I'm likely past the age where I could realistically complete this ride, but reading this tread has take me to parts of the world and introduced me to the people and countryside in a way that cannot be measured.

Thanks to all of you for the effort in spinning this tale. It is fantastic and I, like the thousands of others reading alone with me, am enthralled.

In that I bleed orange I cannot wait to hear the end of the saga with Rod's bike. My gut tells me we are close to learning the solution to the problem and it has nothing to do with a funeral pyre or a signal fire like the Husky in OAS.

__________________Tony Eeds aka Teeds - Proud member of the Peanut Gallery and the Pajama EconomyGood roads bring bad peopleBad roads bring good peoplewe are NOT human beings having a spiritual experience, rather we ARE spiritual BEINGS having a human experience - johnjen

My memory has faded now ... maybe it was the vodka the previous night ... but I sorta kinda think Rod left early in the morning with his bike in Hassan's van, heading north to Barnaul 600 km (400 miles) away ... or maybe he was still with us and my memory has turned into cheese.

In any case ...

There would be no more of this scene that had dominated the trip since Astana ... Rod playing with the ass end of his bike, and Prutser lending his mechanical expertise.

We were down to 4 riders now ... But we knew we had to cross the Mongolian border as 5. Rod was prepared to go to extreme lengths to make that happen. In the meantime, the plan was the rest of us would head towards that border and do some riding around that area (the Altai Republic) until Rod rejoins us. I couldnt help but feel very sorry for Rod because when I outlined this ride to Rod back in 2011, the area he was most enthusiastic about was the Russian Altai. This was the bit he wanted the most, and now he would have to miss it.

We had a last lunch with Yana

And said our farewells to the cozy lodge that had been our home for two nights ... a find of gold after the cold wet miserable day that brought us here.

It was an uneventful day on the road. The significant amount of recent rain meant I decided to take more travelled roads thu villages, rather than forest trails.

But it was still remote enough to catch some very surprised looks from the locals:

A few brief hours later we reached the target - it had actually been my target for the day that we ended up at Yana's ... a small hotel in the village of Petropavlovskoe where I had initially met up with TonyP 3 years earlier. The hotel was all locked up, but there was a sign on the door with a phone number to call for hotel guests. I called it, and this gruff but funny lady appeared and opened it up for us.

Hey Walter you mentioned the possibility of using the TR650 engine to refresh the X. So I'm curious, why not just buy one and modify it? Are the differences between the two so great? I think the husky may be a little heavier, but I'd think some of that is in the change to a steel swingarm. As far as that goes that weight is pretty low on the bike, so isn't as bad as if most of the weight difference is up high. The reason I'm asking is I really like your setup, but decent x bikes are getting harder (and will only get more so) to come by. So I've been looking at the options for when it's time to add another bike.

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If you're thinking about it your just trying to justify it to yourself.

Hey Walter you mentioned the possibility of using the TR650 engine to refresh the X. So I'm curious, why not just buy one and modify it? Are the differences between the two so great? I think the husky may be a little heavier, but I'd think some of that is in the change to a steel swingarm. As far as that goes that weight is pretty low on the bike, so isn't as bad as if most of the weight difference is up high. The reason I'm asking is I really like your setup, but decent x bikes are getting harder (and will only get more so) to come by. So I've been looking at the options for when it's time to add another bike.

Its a possibility as well ... a 5th option.

Many of my existing aftermarket parts are unlikely to work on the different bike tho. Everything from bashplate to fuel tank will need to start afresh. Its a lot more effort when I already have stuff thats easy to swap over..